Joint venture to expand Radio Shack in Mexico

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Tandy Corp. announced a joint venture agreement with a major Mexican retail firm Thursday to build a chain of Radio Shack Technology Stores across Mexico.

Plans are to open 50 stores a year for the next three years, and perhaps to step up the pace after the initial period, a Tandy spokesman said.

The stores will be operated by the newly chartered Radio Shack de Mexico S.V. de C.V., a joint venture between Tandy International Corp., a wholy owned subsidiary of Tandy, and Grupo Gigante S.A. de C.V.

Grupo Gigante is one of Mexico's strongest nationwide retailers. It operates 111 stores across Mexico under the 'Gigante' name, and had 1991 sales of more than $1.6 billion.

'Our objective is to combine Grupo Gigante's retail expertise in the Mexican marketplace with Radio Shack's 71 years of experience operating consumer electronics specialty stores,' said Bernard Appel, senior vice president of Tandy Corp. and a director of the new joint venture.

'The joint venture will allow Radio Shack to expand quickly in this explosive market,' he said.

The joint venture builds on an on-going relationship between Grupo Gigante and Tandy. Gigante has had a licensing agreement to distribute Tandy products in Mexico's Radio Shack stores since 1986.

'We're very pleased to continue our relationship with Tandy through this joint venture. It is another step in Gigante's flexible approach to developing a national retail network that meets Mexico's needs,' said Angel Losada Moreno, Grupo Gigante executive vice president and chairman of the newly created Radio Shack de Mexico.

There are currently 24 Radio Shack stores in Mexico, all of which have been operated by a subsidiary of Grupo Gigante. Those stores will now become part of Radio Shack de Mexico.

In addition, the joint venture plans to open 50 new stores a year for at least the next three years.

'We'll keep this rate up for certain for at least three years, and then that could be accelerated further.,' said Tandy spokesman Philip Bradtmiller. 'The Mexican market, as well as the rest of Latin America, is very, very attractive.'

The Radio Shack de Mexico stores will offer most of the products sold in Radio Shack's retail stores in the United States -- including audio- video electronics, computers, telephones, calculators and other electronic equipment.

Tandy Corp., a leading manufacturer and retailer of consumer electronics products and personal computers, had revenues of $4.6 billion in fiscal 1991 and employs more than 40,000 people worldwide.